It doesn't deserve praise. Especially in comparison to ATLA. I only watched the first season of ATLA and they did it much better than in LOK. I understand they didn't have time to make everything extra detailed because it was only 12 episodes BUT THAT IS NO EXCUSE TO MAKE IT THIS BAD.

First: Korra Korra. I really wanted to love Korra. I did actually, but after episode 5 her personality became so obnoxious. Korra NEVER learns anything. Besides learning to accept that she gets scared, she never learned a thing. In the final she still tries to stop Amon, knowing that he's proven to be very strong and very good at fighting and if she makes the wrong move, her bending can be taken away. Instead she's like "Mah gutttttt." Like NO. How about your brain? What about your common sense? What do they say? Korra continuously through the whole entire series went head first into everything, she didn't sit down and think. She resolved almost everything with getting angry or fighting. Not once did she calm down and say "maybe we should discuss this." nope. "This person disagrees with me and won't bend to my will cuz I'm the Avatar, time to fight'em"

She even took that approach when it came to Mako. She was all like "I love you." AFTER HE WAS DATING ASAMI and when he was like "no Korra." she still pursued him. She didn't stop to think "hey. Mako's with Asami, so he already has feelings for someone else. After admitting my feelings and getting rejected, I should probably take a hint and move on. Asami is his girlfriend, imagine how she'd feel." instead she just kisses him. She better be grateful only Bolin saw it.

Speaking of Bolin, Korra was so selfish this whole show. Saving a few people means nothing.

The most mature thing through the whole show she did was not completely tear Mako from Asami, though it was obvious that Makorra was gonna happen anyways. It was canon from episode two.

Two: Makorra

Why should I want these two together? What have they truly done so romantic and beautiful between them that would make them like each other. They only had one moment where they were together and actually connected with each other. That was in the final. Their whole relationship was annoyingly superficial. BolinxKorra made more sense. How? Because they actually went on a date. They actually had something in common. Bolin actually acted like he cared about her, instead of knowing he liked Korra and still dating another girl, and then cheating on her with Korra TWICE. No Asami and Mako DIDN'T breakup. It wasn't implied, it never happened. Nope went after Mako instead cuz he's mysterious and has red eyes~

three: Ms. Sato

Asami. Motherfucking. Sato.

She had no personality. All we learned about her was.-Her mum is dead.-She can fight.-Her dad was an equalist.-she's rich.-Her dad created cars.-She dates Mako.

One thing I did like about her is that she called out Mako on his shit. I know there were more important things to worry about on the show, but nobody besides her took Mako to the side and said "Hey. You can't play both of these girls like this. Do you like Korra or Asami? You can't have both."

What was Asami's point? Besides being Mako and Bolin's sugah mama, though, it was pointless because because the arena ended up being destroyed. Her and Korra weren't friends. Her and Bolin weren't friends. Mako ended up with Korra. She was so unnecessary. It was obvious that her dad/she was gonna end up being an equalist anyways. I thought she was added to the series so they could go down that rope. An under cover equalist in the group.

Bolin:

I really liked Bolin, but what has he done? You can't even call him the Sokka of the series, because at least Sokka served a purpose. What does Bolin do? Get captured a bunch and crack jokes. He might as well have been one of Tenzin's kids, since that's the only purpose he served. Atleast if he was a child, his constant joke telling would make sense. He is 16. Like MelinaPendulum said, he's too old to have nothing but jokes come out of his mouth. At twelve he'd be too old.

Finally AVATAR STATE: Fuck you final, she didn't deserve it. Korra didn't deserve to become fully realized. What did she do to become fully realized? She grew none. Every choice she made in the final, she would've made in the first episode. She was bratty, and stubborn, and snappy then, she's bratty, and stubborn, and snappy now. She didn't deserve it at all. Imagine if it was Kyoshi or Roku instead of Aang that was the Avatar before her? Aang's too nice, so I would expect nothing less, but those two. Uhh uhh. It would've played out differently.

I would even go as far to say that Korra is somewhat sueish.

EDIT: OMG I WAS SO PISSED I LEFT OUT MAKO.

Mako:

Mako, you whore.

Seriously, Mako was a douche. Oh god, I hate always doing TD comparisons, but Mako was the Duncan of this show, and Korra and Asami were the Gwen and Courtney. Mako was a huge douche bag, but still ended up having a girlfriend because he's, well, Mako. He's with one girl, but like all douches, has his eye on another. He KNOWS there's another girl he likes, but still continues to be with the other one. Then he kisses the other one, and deceives the first girl, while the other girl and the first girl attempt a friendship. Then some outside source that saw the whole thing tells the first girl about it, and she confronts him, and everyone on the sidelines is like. "I hate the first girl, the other couple was supposed to happen anyways!"

The only difference between TDI and LOK when it comes to this scenario is:

Duncan got called out on his shit by everybody, and so did Gwen.

Mako and Korra just live happily ever after.

It's sick really.

~I could go into a whole critique of the show episode by episode, but I'm to lazy, so take this.

I haven't watched all the episodes, but my sister has (she's eighteen and apparently has terrible taste, even at that age). The ones I saw... I just... BOLIN. I wanted to hug him. My sister and I agreed that he and Korra were muuuuch better off together, since Mako already had a girl.

Actually, I get Korra, and I think she's a well written character. Sure, yes, she does all those things you said, but when you think about the reason for a minute, it becomes really obvious.

The girl spent her childhood isolated from the real world, with no friends her own age, heavily indoctrinated by some old farts who constantly tell her that she's special and that she's the only one who can bring balance to the world. They nag her about how she's missing the spiritual point of the whole Avatar thing, but they don't let her get the experience and wisdom needed to achieve spiritual growth. It's like tying someone up and expecting them to learn how to walk. Katara, bless her soul, is the only one who gets that.

So the first season is about Korra fucking shit up. Of course she does, she doesn't know any better. As for no character growth - I disagree. She finds friends - for the first time in her life - who she wants to protect. She falls in love for the first time, and behaves like an idiot. Well, where would she have gotten the experience to do it differently? As the show progresses, she does come to a few realisations. Like, it's possible for people to care about her as a person, when before her whole sense of self-worth was hinged on her being the Avatar.

I could go on, but I'll stop here.

The relationships: I don't know about your personal experience with love, but you don't fall in love because someone deserves it. It just happens. And when it does, it's inconvenient and embarrassing more often than not. Sometimes you are conflicted between two people who you love for different reasons in different ways. That doesn't make you a douche, it just makes you conflicted. Sometimes you break up with someone because it's not working out and choose someone else. That doesn't make you a douche, it just makes you realistic. Because if there's nothing wrong with the relationship you're having, you wouldn't be tempted by someone else in first place. Now let's add to this that both Mako and Korra are pretty much inexperienced when it comes to matters of the heart. They are both overwhelmed with emotion, and don't know what to do. I actually thought it was done well on the show. I could get what was going on inside of them. This is where the original Avatar series failed completely in my opinion - there was no tension between Aang and Katara at all. No passion. When they kissed in the final, I was all "eurgh", because it felt sort of incestuous to me. Honestly, Katara and Zuko had more of a thing going on.

Asami... I liked her. She's the badass normal, the one without bending powers, who is friends with the heros despite of that. A non-bender who isn't jealous. Just a genuinely nice girl. What's wrong with that? She has character growth, if you care to look. She goes from Daddy's little girl to rebelling against her beloved father for the sake of what's right. She has a strong sense of right and wrong, and she makes the right decisions even when it's very painful for her. Like fighting her own father, or letting Mako go and still being a friend to both Mako and Korra. I think this inner strength makes her a compelling character and worthy of respect.

Bolin is the sticky stuff holding the band together. He's the one to get everyone out of their respective blue funks and helps them to go on. He's the emotonal support. He's the team-mom to Mako's team-dad. I think that's pretty important.

As for Mako - as I said, love doesn't ask for permission, and it takes experience not to do the wrong thing. Maybe he was with Asami for the wrong reasons, maybe he was confused, or maybe he only projected. Love makes fools of us all, so I really wouldn't judge him that harshly. Besides, they are still teens. What they have is puppy love - the real stuff comes much later. Trust me, I know. There are exceptions, but people rarely end up for life with their first boyfriend/girlfriend. Plus, I'll repeat what I said before: If you are genuinely happy with your relationship, you don't give other people interested in you a second thought. If you do, there's something wrong with your relationship. Then you can either work through the issue, or you can break up. Both are acceptable outcomes, depending on the issue. Mako's issue seems to have been being in love with another girl all along, so breaking up with Asami is the only logical consequence. He just didn't do it immediately because a) he was confused, and b) because he was aware that it would be seen as a dick-move, so he hesitated.

Starting with what you said at the beginning, I agree that her superiority complex came from being the Avatar, and told she was special, and told that she needed to be protected by everyone. Because of that, her headstrong nature made sense, but after a while it became really obnoxious. I mean, Mako said they had known each other for months, so she had enough time to realize that her Avatar status didn't give her the right to not think about all of her ideas, and just go head first into everything. The show having 2 seasons is no excuse. They originally were planning on 12 episodes. If the show didn't get a second season, this is what we would have been left with. Making friends isn't really character growth. Anyone can make friends.

As for the relationships. Honestly, I don't care if he loved her or not, it was how he came to love her. Since when did they do anything that would imply a relationship? They've never had a real heart to heart. All their conversation that might resemble a relationship were them yelling at each other. When they did have a conversation that would give an idea of why they like each other it was in the final episode. There was no tension, there was no anything. It's one thing to fall in love with someone, while in a relationship with someone else. It's another to be douche about it. He was being a douche because he didn't stop and think "I'm playing these two girls, I should probably stop and pick one." He just went around like it didn't matter. It's not like he showed no signs of liking Korra until later after he was in the relationship, he showed it constantly, and he still got in a relationship with her. To make matters worse, everyone just acted like it was perfectly fine. You could throw the excuse "they had bigger things to worry about" but if that was the case, the romance wouldn't have been such a big part of the series. Mako had no consequences for what he did. He got Korra in the end, and Asami isn't completely pissed at him. Nobody said anything, nobody gave him a disappointed head shake, nothing. His age is no excuse either. He's 18, not 15. He should know better.

Not all relationships need "tension." That's seriously cliche' to me. Katara and Aang's relationship was sweet, and developed gradually. They weren't completely denying it all the time. Sure, Katara acted oblivious at times, and Aang was to shy to come out and say he liked her, but at least it was something.

Now that I'm looking back, Asami was probably the best of the four. She lost the most out of all of them, and still didn't turn into a nutcase. She was calm and strong, and it really disappoints me that she was treated that way. She isn't really friends with Korra and Bolin, and Mako was basically cheating on her. Her dad was an equalist, her mom was killed by a firebender(the same bender she's dating), and yet she still ends up being the most humble and caring of them all, her jealousy (don't act like she wasn't jealous) and anger were earned. Honestly, if she had ended up being an equalist after all of that, it would have been understandable.

Bolin was honestly irrelevant.

Like I said, he's 18, not 15. Being inexperienced stops being an excuse after a while. I've NEVER been in a relationship(considering I'm 13 and feel I'm too young) and still wouldn't do that to two guys. Breaking up with someone may be hard, but it's a part of maturity. He should have known that what he was doing was wrong. This wouldn't have bothered me as much, if he had been called out by someone other than Asami. It could have been anyone. I don't care if it was Tenzin, Lin, or even Amon. Somebody should have said "You need to stop." He didn't even have the decency to break up with Asami before confessing his love to Korra. I don't care if it was implied, the words never left his mouth.

Honestly, the characterization is only half of why I didn't like the series, but I'm lazy so I'm not gonna go into it.

Ah, I see. Your age explains a bit why you feel about the relationships in the series the way you do. I'm 31, and I've had both puppy love crushes and real relationships, so I think I know more about how they work than you do. I'm not belittling you here, I'm just saying. I've been in the exactly same situation Mako was in, and it's never as clear cut as you make it sound (I ended up breaking up with guy 1 in favour of guy 2, but I would have broken up with guy 1 sooner or later anyway, because our personalities clashed too much).

And I don't think kissing someone counts as cheating. Deliberately two-timing does, and that's not what Mako did. He told Korra no, after all, and to everyone (including Korra) it was clear that he decided to stay with Asami. Until the last episode. The breakup happened on screen, but it was very subtle. That last kiss they share? It's clearly a good-bye kiss, not a romantic one. He only makes a move on Korra after that.

Besides, judging these situations from the outside is very easy - it's a completely different thing when you're in the middle of a mess like that. Trust me on this one.

The falling in love thing? Mako looking wistfully into the direction of Temple Island, and Korra looking back? First or second episode? That's when it happened. And then they were both too shy to act on their feelings. And then Asami happened, and Mako was completely smitten with the idea of a beautiful, rich girl falling in love with a street-rat. It's all there, it's just not spelled out. It's in the subtext.

As for Korra's growth - a few months aren't enough time to unlearn something you've believed in /acted like your whole life. The friends making thing - it is a big deal to someone who's never had any friends before. Again I speak from personal experience. I made my first real friend when I was 19 - it was a very big deal indeed.

Yes, romantic relationships need sexual tension. I do realize that you are a bit young for this discussion, though. I don't want to make you uncomfortable. I had my first boyfriend when I was 21 (not for any specific reason, it just happened that way ), so there's no need to rush. Waiting until you're really ready is a good thing.

Asami - I meant jealous of her friends' bending powers, not jealous of Mako/Korra. Of course she was jealous of those two.

Inexperience has nothing to do with age - it's how much you've lived through. As I said, I was 21, and I was very inexperienced. And I don't think Mako had much time to have relationships in the past - he was too busy with trying to survive and taking care of his little brother. He's also somewhat aloof, which isn't very conductive to romance either.

I'm being really lazy today, but I found a paragraph on Avatar wiki that basically sums up my feelings about the Makorra/Masami thing.

"I know!!! Before Korra confessed to Mako they didn't talk at all. The only reason Mako is the love intrest is because he's hot. There are plenty of other guys that actually have chemistry with Korra, but Mako is the hottest so he obviously has "chemistry" with Korra. In real life, Mako would never like a girl like her, just saying. It's so stupid I cannot even put it into words.

Mako's whole personality (Well, he doesn't really have a personality, but you know..) is built around being as hot and desirable for Korra as possible, not around an actual human-like character, or a human-like couple. This couple seriously made me think much less of the writers.

And both are of the "hot" type of personality. Mako is not "cool" just because does not have much of a personality and is not terribly loud. Therefore they do NOT mesh well together. And apparently the writers don't know what a Gary Stu is, because Mako is one.

And what the heck did Korra do to make Mako fall in love with her? She basically just either cries or bends like the rest of them. And not to say she's not pretty, but she's not the kind of pretty that boys like. Especially guys like Mako are shallow enough that they would never date a girl that looks like Korra. It's just how they act... And saying Mako is an "exception" makes him totally inhuman. Seriously, have you ever met a boy, especially a good-looking one, who doesn't care about how girls look?

Basically, Korra is the main character, so she always gets what she wants. Even the inhuman, impossible things like Mako. Some people actually have to get rejected or suffer, Korra." ~Sorra

Also this:

"The fact that Asami was dealing with bigger problems was exactly why she needed Mako to be sensitive. Which he was not. Since he was supposed to be the one making her smile after episode 7, I blame him a good deal for the fact that she is not smiling. Seriously, why was no one comforting this girl all through the end of book 1?" ~The person that said this was anonymous, so I can't credit them

Wait - the relationship doesn't work because Korra isn't pretty/beautiful??? How superficial is that? It's not true, by the way. Men with two braincells to rub together really don't care if a woman is perfect looking or not, as long as she is right for them. I know lots of couples where the guy is more attractive than the gal. Or maybe German men are just better that way. I really don't know.

Besides, Korra is pretty. Sure, she's not really feminine (but that's more her demeanour than her looks), but she is definitely pretty. And I don't think Mako is a Gary-Stue. He's just a character. He's a bit serious, but all in all very responsible and caring. He makes mistakes, and he's not perfect - but that just proves my point. He's a deadpan snarker, who can actually direct his acerbic wit at himself ("You're the Avatar, and I'm an idiot.") I think that's endearing. I know people like that. It's realistic.

Maybe he thinks her awkwardness is endearing. Maybe he loves her for being a good person (which she is, when it comes down to it)... there are many reasons. Besides, it's just a crush. Real love takes time to grow - there is no such thing as true love on first sight.

I think the core problem is that some girls have a problem with female characters who don't fit the classic feminine stereotypes having a successful relationship with a hot guy. I think that's why Korra is getting so much Flak - and I find it disturbing that it comes from women. Honestly.

There are other characters exhibiting similar traits in other fandoms who get the same treatment. I find that quite disturbing.

That's not what the girl was trying to say. She was saying that Korra and Mako's relationship is unrealistic because 1) Teenage boys, especially ones with his kind of personality, tend to be extremely shallow. If the girl isn't gorgeous, the guy must've really invested time into getting to know her. Since Mako and Korra never really got to know each other, and being completely honest, Korra isn't that pretty. Not saying she's ugly, but she's pretty in a "aww" way, not really a "i want to sleep with her" way. On the other hand, someone like Bolin liking Korra makes more sense, because he's more of an emotional/sensitive type of guy.

Mako falling in love with her because of her "awkwardness" is just so unrealistic. I mean, he even demonstrated how shallow he was when Asami hit him with her bike/scooter/thing. Switch the characters around for a second. If he had met Korra that way, instead of Asami, how do you think he would've reacted? He probably would've yelled at her, like he planned to with Asami.

You're kind of confusing me a bit. You said you don't do anything to get someone to fall in love with you, but you also said he might like her for her awkwardness. It's not like he just looked at her and said "I love you." she had to do <italic> something </italic.> for him to feel the way he does. Even though it's extremely unrealistic in the first place.

I understand you have more experience in romance than me, and more life experience, but your situation isn't very common. You probably, (unless you're a young mother or have younger brothers, or nephews) haven't talked to a teenage boy lately. Whereas I talked to one yesterday. I know a little bit more about what they're like. They're jerks. Not making a generalization, it's just honesty. A lot of boys(and girls) that are teens base their "love" off of attraction, and it goes on from there. To say he loved Korra without talking to her is just plain unreal. And saying he's an exception, like Sorra said, just makes him inhuman, and seems like they're bending his personality to suit Korra's needs.

Well, I can't speak for other girls, but if anything, I've seen this fandom hate prettier *cough* Asami *cough* females more just for the soul fact of there femininess, which I find ridiculous. Korra is just obnoxious. Female character's, regardless of there demeanor or girlyness, shouldn't be exempt from criticism. If a girl's a tomboy AND gets hate, it doesn't necessarily mean it's just because she's a tomboy. I was glad the show made a main female character that wasn't girly all the time. Honestly, now that you mention it, I feel like they made her a tomboy stereotype. Since she's not girly, she's headstrong, feels like she's superior to others, and does what she wants, without question.

Now that I think about it, every thing that happened, every bad decision she made, just bended to her benefit in the end. No pun intended.

Ah, I see. What I meant was that you don't fall in love with someone because of what they do (as in "earning" your love), but because of who they are.

I've been a member of the Goth scene for about ten years, and one of the wonderful things about it is that it isn't a teen-ghetto. At least in Europe it isn't. So the scene includes every age between 12 and 103. Yes, really - I met a Goth that old. So, I talk to teenagers quite regularly. You are right - they tend to be superficial. But - there are also those who were forced to grow up faster than others (for whatever reason), and they tend to be a lot more mature. Mako is one of those, I think. He was forced into the role of a parent and had to take care of his brother, so I can't see him as a typical self-centred teen. It is possible to be emotionally mature and inexperienced when it comes to romance at the same time. I used to be a prime example for that. I can actually identify with Mako - he's a lot like I was at that age. I used to be a rather serious, level-headed young girl who was very responsible and didn't do stupid stuff - but that didn't prevent me from screwing up royally when it came to relationships (all kinds, not just romantic). But I learned from my many mistakes, and I think so will Mako.

As for him not spending a lot of time with Korra - I don't think that's the case. They are friends, so I guess they hang out off-screen. Besides, there's the whole time they spend practising for the tournaments, and that's a situation where you get to know people pretty well. The whole conflict with the Equalists adds another layer - people stuck with each other in stressful situations tend to form deep bonds very quickly. Just take a look at war-veterans.

So Mako got distracted by a pretty face - happens to the best of us. I think he just had a crush on Asami (who wouldn't?), but his feelings for Korra might be a lot deeper. Time will tell. Maybe he's just crushing on her too, maybe he isn't. What I am pretty sure about is that Korra is just having a crush on him, she's still too immature to develop serious feelings. Or maybe the whole Avatar reincarnation thing is helping her development now. We'll find out, I guess. Maybe her "aaw" kind of prettiness strikes a chord within him - he does have a very protective side (he tends to mother Bolin and the rest of the team a lot). Guys who are like that actually go for "aaw" - I should know, because I'm the "aaw" kind of pretty myself (I call it the bayby-face curse )

The reason Korra is the way she is (a tomboy who likes rising hell) is merely due to executive meddling. The producers were opposed to a female protagonist as such because they were afraid that boys wouldn't watch the show because it's about a girl. This is also why the relationships aren't that developed - to keep the male audience, who presumably likes action better. So the writers had to write her the way they did. The show was pretty successful, so maybe there's hope for a little change in season 2.

Besides Korra was taken down a peg or two. Not that she really needed it - she's headstrong, yes, but also very insecure and vulnerable. Her brash exterior is just a facade to hide her soft and squishy centre.

What I do agree with, though, is that Asami really got the short end of the stick. I guess that's one of the reasons I ship her with Iroh - she deserves a real prince charming

I mostly agree with you. I don't think entering the Avatar State makes Korra a fully- realised Avatar. Aang, in my opinion, wasn't really fully- realised until that last episode, but he'd been in the Avatar State a few times before that. Korra's got at least 20 more episodes to redeem herself so I'm keeping my hopes up.

Asami, I admit, totally started off as 2-D and unoriginal, and she still needs some work. Still, I admire how she handled the sitation with her father, you know, the guy who she loved and depended on her entire life who totally betrayed her and tried to kill her. That, coupled with Mako's douciness, she handled herself very well, and deserves a bit more credit, you know?

And as much as I love Bolin, I agree with you there. But again, the next season is supposed to be more about Bolin figuring himself out and being aman and crap. I'm optimistic.

Oh thank god that someone else hates this show. Fuck Korra, her bending, her anger issues, her and stubborn refusal to learn or change or freaking evolve into something even resembling a protagonist. I know that the reader doesn't have to like the protagonist to enjoy a story but it sure the hell helps. By the end, I was hoping Amon would just win already so there would be some conflict for a second season. There was no conflict. I didn't understand or buy the entire bender vs non-bender "conflict." Even if that was part of the overall theme, that's not something that the show was trying to resolve or address. Just fighting and bending tournaments. Woo, and sexual tension, implied rape, kidnapping, and aggression. "Do you know who I am??? I'm the goddamn avatar! Obey me or die!"

I almost want to blame the gender of the character in that the writers must have felt that more strain would have been like abusing a woman or something. I just feel like Aang went through more hell to get to where he needed to be, and that stuff didn't just go omgwtfbbqoverpoweredbullshit every single time.

That actually makes sense. More struggle would make a more strong female character, rather than just getting everything she wants with little to no consequence, which is why I prefer Asami and Lin to Korra.

I think the problem overall is that she is a woman. They just can't do the same things to her that they did to Aang. People might have sympathized with Aang over his hardships but that's because because the writers created a character we could care about and the story to back him up. Korra...all that they have to do is make something bad happen and everyone's protective instincts kick in and go 'awww, poor girl, how dare you do that to her...' Its just sad. Let's be honest, the only real drama this series had was relationships. No discovery of powers and how to use them, nothing about the spiritual side, only oops she's really upset and everyone feels bad for her, and bam, demi-god.

Call me terrible, but I never even gave the series a chance. I won't watch it. My friends rant and rave about how amazing it is, but I honestly don't want to see the Avatarverse without all the original characters. So at least you're better than I am xD

I disagree with you completely. LoK was not terrible, it was actually very good. My dad even agrees with me, and that's strange because my dad barely ever agrees with me. So that says something there, either you didn't watch the episode close enough to actually like it or I over watched them. And I don't over watch things. I only watch shows about 2 or 3 times, not like 30 times. I kinda think you over-analyzed everything. But I respect your opinion and I do hope you respect mine.

Like, I understood your points and all but I dunno, I have stupid reasons about silly stuff. Ozer-analyzation is what I struggle with and I just thought maybe you did too. And I have no problem with you not liking it. (:

I left out Lin, too :< I was gonna say how her losing her bending was pointless because she learned nothing from it, and Tenzin and his kids got caught anyways.

There's nothing they can do in the second season that could redeem what happened this season. My theory is the writers got lazy after seeing how popular the first series got. Since it got popular they didn't have to try as hard to please that fans.

Maybe Lin learning something isn't the point, maybe the other characters and the watchers are supposed to learn something about her?

Namely, that she is willing to sacrifice herself for a former lover who left her for another woman. And said woman and her kids. She's doing what she does to keep them safe. I think that's a pretty big thing, and not pointless at all, regardless if she succeeds or not.

Yes, but her sacrifice was basically pointless. She didn't have to do anything, she just got it back. And it's not like Tenzin and his family got away. They still got caught. It was pointless. There were other ways they could have shown that she is willing to sacrifice for others, even the woman who basically stole her lover.

My theory on the whole Lin Bei Fong arc was that they didn't give her time enough to kern, she lost it one day and regained it the next. And her sacrifice was completely wasted since Tenzin and the air kids got abducted even though she scarified herself.

Grr, and the poorly executed Amon/Tarrlock/Noatok think. Just, don't get me started I could rant for days.

Needles to say, you're absolutely right. They totally (mind my language here) fucked the show. The writers could've done so much but they got lazy.